PAYOUT HIGHER; PRODUCTION DOWN 200 TONS

Chronicle (Levin), 22 July 1948, Page 4

PAYOUT HIGHER; PRODUCTION DOWN 200 TONS

Levin Dairy Com|>any's i Year Reviewed

The annual meeting -of share- ' holders of the' Levin Co-operative/ Dairy Co., Ltd., was heid in Levin1 yesterda^. The chairman of direc-j tors, Mr, T'. G. Vincent, presided. !' .The annual review of activities" skowed that the auvanoe to sup-*, pliers for the past' year totailed 26.5024d. per- lb. of butterfat, ' as against 22.4914d last year. The company's production this year shows a decrease of 200 tons of butter, the result of the drought conditions last summer. . Past Year's Work During the season the company: had manufactured 1354 tons 8 cwt. 3 qrs. 23 lbs. of butter as compared with 1559 tons 17 cwt. 2 qrs. 20 lbs. the previous- season, a' decrease equal to 15.16 per cent.,' said' Mr. Vmcent in his annual report. "We had an increase in production up to the end of December, but the exceedingly dry summer and autumn found suppliers short of feed, and if • production is to be kept up in periods such as these, farmers will have to grow mpre supplementa'ry crops. The New Zealand increase in butter graded for export for the 10 months ended May 31, 1948, was 4.589 per cent. "The valuation basis of unsold stocks of butter as at May 31, 1948, was 24.2d per pound. The company made the following payments to suppliers since qur last annual report. A payment of I^ie-d per lb. butterfat covering butterfat supplied November 1, 1946, to July 31, 1947, amounting to £14,761 18s lld, also farm cost aliowance for the months -of June and July, 1947, amounting to £1415 17s 7d. These payments are not included in the average payment of 26.504d per lb. butterfat. The average advance payment for the season was 22.8149d per lb. butterfat, arid with the final 'payment of 3.6875d, will make the average payment 26.5024d.

"The farm piggery has had a successful year, although supplies of butter-milk decreased considerably and more use of meals had to be made much earlier than usual. The number of baconers, porkers und breeding sows sold was 846. Our farm manager is to be congratulated on the success attained at the various shows, especially the first place in the Tomoana porker championship for the Wellington Province. It is the farm manager's intention to make available to suppliers young maiden sows from the best types of breeds. All' baconer pigs were disposed of through the N.Z. Co-op. Pig Marketing Association, Ltd. The dairy farm has shown steady improVement during the season, in spite of the dry autumn. "A goods rebate of five per cent. was paid , to all suppliers on vtheir purclias'es for the year ended May 31, 1947. The Levin -Kuku-Manakau veterinary scheme gives toi all suppliers in the area as far south as Paekakariki, veterinary service.- A junior veterinary surgeon is now stationed at Otaki. Om* Linton suppliers received service from the Shannon Veterinary Club. The deficiency in the veterinary scheme was £385 8s ld, and equals *£1 10s for each 10,000 lbS. butterfat supplied by our suppliers. The James Smellie Bursary was awarded to Mr. N. Gunning, of Shannon. The thanks of the sharehoiders are due to the staff for the efficient manner in which they,have carried out their respective duties." Comparative Statistics A table of statistics submitted tc the meeting gave the following information, the figures in parentheses being for the previous year:— Number of- suppliers,. 432 (434) ; cream received, 6,580,313 lbs (7,503,411) ; butterfat received 2,558,308 lbs. (2,913,891); average cream test, 38.878 per cent. (38.834) ; butterfat used for butter making 2,501,626 lbs. (2,875,307) ; creamerj

outter made, 3,633,963 lbs. (3,494,140) ; over-run, 21.279 per cent. (21:522) ; average grade butter, 93.819 points (93.622) ; cream graded finest, 93.97- per cent. (94.32) ; cream graded first, 5.76 per cent. (5.19); cream graded second,. .27 per cent. (.49) ; butterfat in cream sold, 56,682 lbs. (38,584) ; total charges to f.o.b. per lb. butterfat, 2.1811d (1.5156). - Qhairman's Comments "During the "eourse of his comments 'on the aftmual report, Mr. Vincent remarked on the fact that this was the 49th annual meeting of the company, -and pointed outthat the following year would see'RKl celebrating its 50th' anniversary. ^ The Levin Dairy Company could lay claim to being the most outstanding dairy company in the country, and how it should fittingly celebrate the occasiQn was a difficult question. However, he assured the sharehoiders that a move would be taken in that direction. ' -Mr. Vincent congratulated the suppliers on the payout for the season, commenting that it was probably one of the company's best. During the year the district had experienced the worst drought . since the company's inception. In all his 45. years of residence in the district* he could not rememberja season in which climatic conditions had been more disadvantageous. It had resulted in a decreased production of 200 tons of butter. With these conditions, however, went the fact that many farmers had not top-dressed their land to the same extent as when they had received a subsidy. He .asked them not to do^ this, even though the ' price had increased. If production was gohig to be maintained; then the production per acre of the land would have to be • maintained. (Figures later came to light on this subject which discjosed that of a total of fio.ooo worth of fertiliser ordered through the factory during the past 12 months, £7,316 worth was delivered) . June of this -year had seen an all time'low production figure of only four tons of butter. However, this was not due to the sup'plies of milk to Wellington, ds less was sent during June, 1948, than during June, 1947. It was estimated that suppliers lost during the drought in the vicinity of £50,000. The chairman drew the attention of the meeting to the fact that the turnover for, the year was £306,605 16s 3d. To this could be added some £50,000 for milk sent to Wellington. Of this,. the" company had takeri £23,250 for the various work in collecting, processing and marketing the products. • The company's employees had worked well during the year, said Mr. Vincent. He thanked the directors for the close attention they had paid to tfie affairs of the company, and mentioned that although they were all farmers, the attendance at the board meetings , had been almost a record. • Election of Officers The omy positions to be filled were those of the • three* retiring ! directors and the auditors. Mr. M. U. Rix, a director of the company for six years, and whose family has , farmed in the district for many years, announced his retirement. ; The meeting placed on" record its , appreciation of his services ; throughout the years, a'nd many ! cributes were paid to him. ! To fill the three vacancies, four . sharehoiders were nommate4 and an election resulted. The two retiring directors, Messrs. D. K. , Guy and R. W. Horne, were re-elect- - ed and Mr. W. Gilliiand was eiect- ! ed. Messrs. J. L. Arcus and Sons ; and Messrs. Dempsy, Litchfield and I Spring were re-eietted auditors. ' At a subsequent meeting of the directors, Mr. Vincent was re- ! elected chairman for the ensuing ! year. •- The directors spoke appreciatively of Mr. Vincent's good r work during thp year.